[Malloriel]

I feel the same way, Peter. I would say I'm passionate about writing, and creating in general where it relates to my writing, and it's something I've done almost constantly in one form or another since I was about five or six. I think it would be grand if I could make a pound or two, and even better if people actively enjoy what I provide, but . . . I would say it's a personal drive, a need to write, but not a compulsion. I'm not so obsessed that I absolutely MUST sit down and right immediately right now OMG get out of my way! I DO, however, keep a pen and pad of paper near me at all times so I can scribble out my notes and ideas as the strike me. This leads to a very paper pad filled house. Though all my actual writing occurs on the computer.

So to really address the question, though, I find it personally most satisfying and actually soothing to write simply because it's what I love most to do. There's no sense of urgency to write a certain kind of concept, no need to write what you THINK the public will most appreciate, that which will make you famous with glory and a little pocket money. Obviously if you become published with an advance for another novel in the same vein then you've got deadlines to worry about and no more casual leisure time to play around the same as before (or as I have all my life), but one assumes that by the time you're ready for that you'll be ready to put in the effort for deadlines. I know that I'm not even going to TRY for publication until I know my world well enough that I'm not still developing it as much as I'm developing my stories. Working on stories exclusively takes much less effort and time than to write several cris-crossing storylines WHILE figuring out what's going on in the world, why and where.

That's just me, though. ^_^ I like a lot of work like this on my plate and don't feel daunted since it just means there's always something for me to do.

What I NEED to do right now, though, is eat. I'm starving.